Week 5, Blog 1: Racism in Schools

“‘You’ve got all these blacks and Puerto Ricans down in South Jamaica, where I was born and raised,’ Cuomo said in an address to a political club in Queens. ‘You think they’re all bad because they’re the ones coming up here, mugging and raping you and breaking into your houses. And you’re saying, ‘We don’t want them in our neighborhoods. We don’t want them anywhere near us’...The liberals come and tell you it’s our moral obligation to help these people because we oppressed them-the blacks, anyway-for 400 years. That’s what John Lindsay told you, right? However, here in Queens, how can I tell my father that?...He never punished a black, or hurt a black, or enslaved a black...’” (Ladies and Gentlemen, the Bronx is Burning by Jonathan Mahler, pages 108-109)

This quote hits quite a nerve for me. Over the course of my last twelve years of public school education, I have been taught over and over how indifferent and horrible white people were to blacks in the past, and how it is my responsibility to stop racism when I encounter it and to never be racist myself. Obviously, the history is real and the truth is that whites did oppress blacks for a very long time, and it was a horrible occurrence. However, I never did any of that. What’s more, I wouldn’t be near as aware of the differences between races as I am after being “educated on the subject,” probably never would have noticed those differences at all, and would have less of a chance of being racist than I do now that I can rattle off the facts of “Racism in America” and, well, blah blah blah. It pains me that I am tired of hearing about racism, and that I have such a strong emotional reaction to the way racism is taught in schools; I have no problem with other races, and have many friends of another race, culture, etc. I am not exasperated with the subject because I think it is pointless or irrelevant; I agree that racism is very real and I do try to stop it when I see it. What angers me is that I have to consciously monitor my teacher-inspired resentment-breeding-guilt in the classroom when racism is taught, because somehow…I always end up the bad guy. Like Cuomo’s father, I “never punished a black, or hurt a black, or enslaved a black,” yet I feel the guilt of my long-dead fathers who did.

But isn’t this racism too? To think that I need to be educated over and over and over about the harm “I” caused another entire race (harming one person is enough to make me feel guilty...but a whole race?) simply because I am white is just as prejudicial as the acts I never actually committed. Don’t get me wrong; I strongly believe that racism is learned and thus its history and racial tolerance desperately need to be learned first. The problem is that it is an issue that needs to be addressed and learned in the home. When addressed all the time at school, where I am a captive audience and must nod my head in agreement that “yes, I did oppress these people” lest I get a bad grade or offend my teacher (who ironically is probably black if they are emphasizing black issues enough that it bothers me to the point of saying something controversial), “racism” becomes associated in my brain with “ugh, not more homework” and not with real people who suffer real issues. Because most homes in America are too busy worrying about whether or not the parents will actually stay married too raise their children with actual morals and teach them unconditional love and tolerance by example, schools have stepped up to the plate, and I applaud their efforts. Just like I applaud John Lindsay’s efforts of “urban renewal” and low-income housing projects. Obviously, though, good intentions don’t mean anything when dealing with these specific issues. I thank my teachers for their concern, but really...their constant acknowledgment of the racial chasm between blacks and whites only makes it deeper.

Again, don’t get me wrong; black literature and the racism that helped cause the Civil War do need to be taught in schools, but right alongside Japanese literature, African literature, British literature, and with just as much emphasis as other historical conflicts (ask any middle school student and most high school students what the cause of the Civil War was, and they’ll say “slavery.” Ask any history student or professor, and they’ll say “States Rights.”). I have no problem, for instance, with our analysis of race in AMS101 in the events in Ladies and Gentlemen, the Bronx is Burning, because it is just that: analytical, and more often than not, unbiased. That’s totally different than the English teacher I had my sophomore year of high school who only assigned literature on “What it’s like to be Black”...all year. If we were going to spend a year on “What it’s like to be…insert race here,” why didn’t we study Asian, African, European, American, etc. literary works? Here’s the thing about racism: we are all a little “racist” against anyone who is not like us. A white can be racist toward a black, or a black toward a white, or a white and a black against a Hispanic or Asian, or on and on and on. I believe it is extremely racist to focus on the plights of only one race. “Reverse discrimination,” I believe it’s called.

If this blog were just me voicing my jaded opinion, then perhaps I’m just insensitive and over-reacting. But it’s not. I’ve actually had this conversation before with many other white students, who feel the same way I do and are just as upset by it...but ironically, nobody (teachers, at least) seem to know we feel this way, because if we were to voice our opinion on the matter, well that would be considered racist, now wouldn’t it?

Racism will not be stopped by mass efforts, including education systems. The only way it can possibly be stopped is on an individual basis, with whites acknowledging (beyond head-knowledge, but also in action) that they are no different than blacks, with blacks acknowledging that they are no different than whites, and with both us realizing that we are excluding the rest of the races around the globe. The truth is, we’re both a little racist, and we’re both to blame for the distance between us. Stop talking, stop teaching in words, and go out and talk to your kids, sit next to someone of a different race the next time you get on a bus, teach by example, and be sensitive to all races...not everything is black and white.